Falces made much of Baltasar de Aguilar, with the view of obtaining the facts respecting the alleged conspiracy, and finally Aguilar told him that Cortés had no hand in it.[1] Falces then wrote the crown that in his opinion there had been no conspiracy; the oidores, on the other hand, accused the viceroy of apathy and disloyalty, and thereafter they did all they could to annoy him.[2]
It was a great monster of rebellion the oidores had crushed — so they would have the king believe, and so they wrote to all Spain about it. They went further, even accusing Falces of favoring the plot, and of having a plan of his own to separate New Spain from the crown of Castile, in support of which he had already thirty thousand men enrolled.[3] Not satisfied with this, by collusion with the factor Ibarra, who had charge of forwarding the official correspondence, they succeeded in keeping back the viceroy's report, so that the tales of his enemies alone might reach the court.[4] Yet more and more the people felt that the conduct of the oidores had been infamous, and the informers were held in contempt.[5]
- ↑ Later on, being tortured by order of the visitador Muñoz, he retracted that declaration, saying that his first statement had been the correct one, and adding that his deposition to the contrary had been instigated by Falces. Peralta, Not. Hist., 230-2, 238.
- ↑ The annoyance had begun even earlier, as may be judged by the conduct of the oidores Villalobos and Orozco, who occupied the viceregal apartments in the royal buildings, and only vacated them upon a peremptory demand by Falces. This gave rise, as may be seen, to disagreeable correspondence, which Falces alluded to in his report to the government. Peralta, Informe, in Mora, Mej. Rev., iii. 429.
- ↑ Falces as a lover of the fine arts had caused a battle scene to be painted in one of the halls of the palace, which represented men in action. Torquemada, i. 634. The king of France at one time had shown much regard for the marqués del Valle, and as the viceroy had relatives at the French court and in Navarre, these facts were adduced and made much of by the enemies of the two accused marquises. Peralta, Not. Hist., 232-3.
- ↑ 'Las cartas, que el Virrei escrivió, y causas, qu en su descargo embiaba, las hizo detener Ortuno de Ibarra, que era Factor del Rei, y Hombre poderoso, y favorecido.' Torquemada, i. 635; Peralta, Not. Hist., 233; Cavo, Tres Siglos, i. 183-8; Orozco y Berra, Not. Conj., 57.
- ↑ Ayala de Espinosa said to the audiencia that society was treating him with contumely for what he had done, and that the object was to make the evidence of himself and others appear as unworthy of credence. Pedro de Aguilar was allowed to leave for Spain. Orozco y Berra, Not. Conj., Doc., 161; Falces, Inf., in Mora, Mej. Rev., iii. 445-6.
